Steam-heating apparatus for vehicles.



PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906.

H. GEIRDES.

STEAM HEATING APPARATUS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 001220. 1902.

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a W W M in Q 2 A'Zneomm PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906.

H. GBRDES. STEAM HEATING APPARATUS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.20. 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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STEAM HEATING APPARATUS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.20. 1902.

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No. 836,317. PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906.

H. GERDES.- STEAM HEATING APPARATUS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 0UT.20. 1902.

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A UNITED STATES P A TENT OFFICE.

HEINRICH GERDES, OF BERLIN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO SAFETY GAR HEATING ANDLIGHTING (10., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed October 20. 1902- Serial No. 128,035.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEINRICH GERDES, a subject of the German Emperor,residing at Berlin, Germany, have invented a certain new and usefulSteam-Heating Apparatus for Vehicles, of which the following is adescription.

The present invention relates to steamheating apparatus for vehicles;and its object is to re late the steam-feed to the heating bodies y thetemperature in the compartments.

The invention comprises the features of construction and arrangement andcombination of parts hereinafter described, and particularly set forthin the appended claims.

The apparatus may be used in connection with both high and low pressuresteam-heating systems; but in the latter case a reducingvalve has to beemployed.

In order to render the present specification easily intelligible,reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which similarcharacters of reference denote similar parts throughout the severalviews.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a railway-carprovided with the steam-heating plant. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectionand Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the car, showing the seatsand flooring removed in one compartment in order to clearly show thelocation of the pipe connections, radiators, and other apparatusescomrising the whole plant. Fig. 4 is a sectional front elevation of thedevice mounted in each compartment and operated by the temperaturetherein, which device serves to control the compressed-air feed to thesteam-valve piston. Fig. 4 is an elevation of thestearnfeed-controllingvalve and its piston-housing, showing the pipe connections from theairfeed-controlling device to the said pistonhousing. Fig. 4 is an endelevation of the construction in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 is a section on line A Bof Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 a section on line C D of Fi 4. Fig. 7 is a detailsectional view of the four-way valve.

1 will first describe the general arrangement of the plant withreference to Figs. 1 to 3. The invention is illustrated and described inconnection with a low-pressure steam-heating plant. The main pipes c forthe steam heating are arranged underneath the car in the usual manner.The radiators pressure.

it for the various com artments 1, 2, 3, &c., are generally mounteunderneath the seats and connected up by pipes m and the housing A ofthe steam-feedcontrolling device, hereinafter described, to the branchsteam-pipe a, said housing A being connected to the pipe a by means ofthe coupling a Between the main and branch pipes c and a at the endofeach car a reducing-valve R is provided, which is advantageouslyadjusted to reduce the pressure from the steam-main 0, so as to enablethe steam or condensed Water to flow off freely from the last radiatorof the car .up through the pipe 1; or down through the water-drain at Tpractically at atmospheric The pressure in the branch pipe 1 mustbe'suflicient at all times to force the steam into and through the lastradiator of the car. the controlling -piston of the steam-feed valve maybe taken from the air-brake main b, or a special compressed-air conduitmay be provided, which may be fed from a compressed-air reservoir H, orthe latter may serve as an auxiliary holder for the air-brake main. vThecompressed-air pipes Z and Z, controlled by the contraction andexpansion of the ether acting on the mercury, lead from the a paratus Sin the compartments to each end which controls the steam-feed valve. Theradiators are drained of the condensed water through the drainage-piped, which is provided at the end with a funnel T.

The device 3 for controlling the compressed air-feed to thesteamvalvecontrol-' ling piston is constructed in the following manner:The spirally-Wound tube f, Fig. 4, is mounted in the housing a: and hasits upper end tightly closed, the ower end being in open communicationwith the mercury-receptacle g. The bottom of the receptaclecommunicates, by means of a pipe i, with the bottom of a cylinder 70,having therein a piston n. This piston is sufliciently heavy or loadedso as to follow the mercury by gravity when it sinks A four-way cock 9is mounted in the upper part of the housing w, and its plug-arm islinked at p to the upper end of the piston-rod 0 of the piston n. Thelength of the piston-rod 0 is adjustable in any suitable manner. Thefourway cock g is connected up by pipe 1" to the compressed-air main 7)and also by means of of thehousing s of the piston.

The compressed air for operating branch pipes Z Z to the opposite endsof a housing 8, Figs. 4* and 6, in which the double piston t is free tomove. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the cock g is a four-way cock, the plugof the same being provided with two pairs of ports g g and g 1 arrangedin diiferent.

planes of the cock and communicating, respect vely, with the four portsor channels 1 2 4 and 1 3 4 of the cock-housing. Channel 2 communicateswith pipe Z, channel 3 with pipe Z, channel 4 with ipe 1- and channel 1with pipe 1, or the relie -channe1. Thus when the plug is in theposition shown in Fig. 7 the pipe Z is in communication with thepressure medium from pipe 1 and pipe Z is relieved of pressure throughchannel 3, port g and pipe 1' In the o posite position of the lever pthe pipe vZ will be in communication with the pressure-supply by meansof port 9, and pipe Z will be relieved of pressure by means of port Thespindle 1/. passes through the wall of the housing 8 and engages in theend of the plug 1) of the steam-distributing valve w, Fig. 5. Within thehousing s the spindle it carries the arm a, the roll a of which engagesa slot 25 of the double piston t, so that any movement of the latterwill be communicated to the In 1) of the steam-distributing valve to, wic will be gradually closed mg 8 of the same, the ends of the housing 5at each side of the piston are provided with an nular ackets s, intoeach of which one of the pipes Z and Zleads. These jackets are filledwith oil, and the com ressed air entering one or other of the pipes forZ forces the oil into the corresponding end of the c linder, and

T is arrangevent leakage and facilitates working of the same.

The coupling-flanges S are for coupling u the pipe connections m m tothe valve W while the flanges a are for coupling the valve to the mainsteam-supply pipe'a, as will be readily understood from the Fig. 3.

The ports referred to in line 8 of claim. 2

are shown at 2 2, Fig. 6.

' ing the 1ston or plunger n.

The operation of the whole plant takes place in the following manner:.If the temperature in the compartment rises above the normal height, thetension of the ether-vapor in the spiral tube f increasescorrespondingly and forces the mercury in the receptacle 9 through pipe2' into the cylinder Zc, thus rais- The rod 0 consequent y turns theplug of the four-way cock 9 and allows compressed air to flow from thesupply-pipe r through the pipe Z, to the corresponding jacket 8, thusforcing the oil against the corresponding end of the piston t and movingthe same. This causes the arm a to turn the lug o of thesteam-distributing valve to and s ut off or reduce the steam fed to theradiators of the compartment in question. If the temperature in thecompartment sinks below the normal degree, the opposite action takesplace. The ether in the spiral tube f contracts, the mercury sinks inthe pipe i and cylinder 7c, and the piston n follows it by gravity. Thisthrows the plug of the four-way cook 41 round in the opposite direction,admittin compressed air to the pipe Z and oil to t e corresponding sideof the piston 75, which now acts to open the steam-distributing valveinstead of closing it, so that more steam may pass to the radiators ofthe compartment in question.

The indirect operation of the steam-valve, by the aid of a smalldistributing device and compressed air is rendered necessary because thesensitive apparatus has to be mounted in the com artment, while thesteam-distributing va ve is mounted beneath the car, so that the directoperation of the parts from the ap aratus in the com artment ispractically IIIIPOSSiblB; In ad ition to this, more power is necessaryfor working the steamvalve than could be derived from the sensitiveapparatus, unless the dimensions of the same were increased to animpracticable extent.

I claim as my invention 1. In a trainheating plant, the combination of asteam-pipe system having a distributing cock for each compartment to beheated, a cylinder having a double piston and mounted in proximity toeach of the said distributing-cocks, a source of compressed fluid, athermostat in the com artment, and a fourway cock having suitab econnections to ren-' der it operable by the thermostat, pipe connectionfrom the said four-way cock to the source of compressed fluid and toeach end of the said cylinder, and means in connection with the doublepiston of the cylinder to operate the distributing-cock in the mannerand for the purpose substantially as described.

2. In a train-heating plant, the combination of a steam-pipe systemhaving a distributing-cock for each compartment to .be heated, adouble-piston cylinder for each cock and means for operating said cockswhen the respective pistons are moved, a source of compressed fluid, athermostat in the compartment and means 0 erated thereby to pass thecompressedfiui to one or other end of the said cylinder, a jacket to thesaid cylinder and a liquid therein and ports at each end of saidcylinder to allow the liquid to enter at either end of thecylindersubstantially as described.

In a train-heating plant, the combination of a steam-pipe system havinga distributing cock for each compartment to be heated, a doubleistoncylinder for each cock and means for operating said cocks when therespective lstons are moved, a source of compressed uid, a thermostat inthe compartment a four-way cock operated by said thermostat, and pi econnectlons between it and the source 0 compressed fluid and between thefour-Way cock and each end of the said cylinder so that when the fourwaycock is turned in one or the other direction, one end of the cylinderwill be opened up to the pressure fluid, and the pi e from the other endwill be opened up to t e outer air substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

HEINRICH GERDES.

Witnesses WOLDEMAR HAUPT, HENRY HASPER.

